The Arcade
by jackfrostbeliever
Summary: Maggie Chance is a girl who just wants to get away. Caitie Calhoun is tired of feeling useless. Caleb Calhoun isn't sure what he wants. Andrew Baker needs to get over his dream girl. Caramella von Schweetz needs to fall in love again. When Litwak's is on the verge of closing, one little girl will bring all these people together. Her name? Vanellope von Schweetz.
1. Prologue

I had felt an impending doom the moment the cheat sheet came to me. I knew that whatever dumb kid was playing my game had passed the sheet way too soon. Mr. Teacher caught me with the sheet and shook his head disapprovingly. The red 'GAME OVER' sign appeared and the arcade was officially closed. The kid groaned and left with the rest of the lat-night gamers and I knew that I was in the dog house yet again. I watched with a twinge of sadness as every other kid in school left the building. They were all laughing, kidding around, having fun, and just being teenagers. I very rarely got to join them. Mr. Teacher made me write 'I will not cheat' over and over on the board.

It wasn't my fault! I didn't want nor need to cheat. I just had to. That was the name of the game. Literally. The game is called Take a Chance. My name is Maggie chance. The chance I take is passing the cheat sheet. I hated being in detention. While all the other kids went to Tapper's or Pac-Man or Sugar Rush, I wrote sentences. I wrote them all night until the arcade opened in the morning.

"This is completely unfair!" I groaned as I wrote the three-hundredth sentence. I had already been at it for four hours. "It's not my fault that I cheated!"

"I don't care," said Mr. Teacher. "My job is to watch you, and if you cheat, to keep you in school until morning. That's it."

I rolled my eyes and wished for the twelfth time that night that for once I could just go out and have fun like the other high schoolers. In ten minutes, Mr. Teacher was asleep. Suddenly, I was struck by an idea that had never occurred to me before. I could sneak out. I could leave my game and never have to worry. I'd be back in the morning and probably even sooner than that.

I set down the piece of chalk and hurried out of the dingy classroom. I'd hardly left, it was like my prison. It _was_ my prison! It had been two years since the last time I had been allowed to leave. My game had been in the arcade for twenty-five years. Out of those twenty-five years, I had been free to go twenty-eight days. Needless to say, I was sick of it.

Luckily, I remembered where Game Central Station was. I just didn't know what games were there. The kids only talked about three of those games. I couldn't go to Tapper's or Pac-Man, they were too popular. I didn't want to risk being seen by a snitch, but I didn't know where else to go. I figured I had time to decide once I got to Game Central Station. I arrived at out train and sat down. When it took off, I pulled out a mirror. If I was going to go out, I wanted to look nice.

I saw what I expected, wavy black hair and green eyes. I pulled out a hair band and swept my hair back and tied it up. I always thought I looked best with my hair up in a ponytail. I didn't need any make-up. I also only had one outfit, a pink tank-top, a pleated orange skirt, orange and pink striped tights, and pink flats. Wasn't too bad, but it was all I had.

Once I was finished primping myself, the train screeched to a halt. I readied myself and hopped onto the train platform. I made sure to stay in the shadows and tried my best to avoid being seen. Tried, but failed. I'd decided I wanted to go to Sugar Rush. I'd heard a lot about it and wanted to see it for myself. I was walking past the entrance to Tapper's when three girl from my class walked by, Avery, Loretta, and Riley. They had ratted me out before, and I didn't put it past them to rat me out again.

I tried to duck out of sight, but it was too late. They had already seen me. I could hear Loretta's squeaky voice form across the terminal.

"Oh my Gaaawd!" exclaimed Loretta. "Is that _Maggie?_ She got detention today; she's not supposed to be out here right now!"

"Oh, crud," I muttered and rushed out into the open. I frantically looked around for somewhere to hide. "This isn't going to end well."

The three girls were getting closer, and, despite their Prada shoes and Gucci handbags, I knew they could easily overpower me and drag me back, kicking and screaming if need be, back to our game. I scrambled around for a few seconds then ran into the closest terminal. I got on the train without a thought to where it was going. All I wanted to do was get away. I would do whatever it took to get away.


	2. Cheater's First Friend

Once the train stopped, I finally clued in to where I was. The rubble, the tower, the heavily armored men. I was in the arcade's newest game, Hero's Duty. I knew those three would never follow me into a game like this one. Then again, I didn't know what to do. I sure as heck wasn't gonna stay there. It was a really dangerous game, and I just wasn't cut out for that kind of game. I just had to wait there until Avery, Loretta, and Riley were gone, and then I'd head off to Sugar Rush.

I stepped off the train and into the gusty, wide-open air. I realized I hadn't eaten in a while when my stomach grumbled to remind me. I flagged down the nearest guard and asked him if there was anywhere to eat nearby.

"Only one place," said the guard. He pointed to a tiny little building not far off. "It's called the Savior's Tavern. Sergeant Calhoun put it in to give her daughter some work she could actually do."

"Thank you, Sir," I said. He nodded and I headed off to the Savior's Tavern. It was a short walk.

Hero's Duty was still the newest game after nearly two years. There were rumors that Mr. Litwak couldn't afford to put in any new games. I doubted that was true. I'd heard of this Sergeant Calhoun. I'd almost been invited to her wedding to Mr. Fix-It. In fact, I was invited. I would have gone too, but I was in detention. No surprise there. I hadn't known they'd programmed themselves a daughter. Then again, that was no shock either.

I pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by a delicious smell. I recognized it as fresh baked cinnamon rolls. I looked to the counter and saw a tall, graceful girl with hazel hair, in a braid, and blue eyes setting a tray of cinnamon rolls on the counter. The place was empty other than her and had a Fifties style diner feel to it. She looked up and gave me the warmest smile I'd ever seen and then dusted the flour from her hands onto her apron.

"Well, hello there, Stranger," said the girl. I sat down on a bar stool and waved. "What brings little Miss Chance to my neck o' the woods?"

"I'm on the lam," I replied, grabbing a cinnamon roll and taking a bite. "Well, not really…exactly… I just got hungry and I was nearby."

"You can tell lil' old Caitie all about it," said Caitie, beginning to wipe down the counter. "What's really going on?"

"I was just…I'm supposed to be in detention over in my game," I replied, taking another but of the warm cinnamon roll. "I've been in detention almost my whole life."

"How long have you been around for?"

"Twenty-five years, yesterday."

"Well, congratulations Maggie! You've been around almost as long as my Papa."

"Fix-It Felix? Yeah. I met him once, fifteen years ago. He seemed like a nice guy."

"I know. I don't get to see him often, 'cause of my little gig here at the tavern. It's been eight months now, actually."

"Well, at least you have parents. I was only programmed to cheat."

Caitie picked up a cup and started scrubbing it with a cloth she pulled from her apron pocket. She looked at me with a brooding look on her face. After she plunked the cup under the counter, she spoke again.

"I'd guess all that cooping up just about frazzled your code."

"You're telling me! I just got tired of it. All the detentions just got to my head. I couldn't take it anymore."

"Do you mind, if we're going to be venting here, could I add something?" I nodded. I was in _her _restaurant. "I live in the same game as my mother and I see her about once a week. She made me live with her because she thought she could groom me to be a little mini-her."

"Could she?"

"No! I can't even walk in the armor I'd have to wear. I couldn't lift the gun, let alone shoot it. So, she put me in this quaint little tavern, and now here I am. This place is deserted most of the time, to make matters worse."

"And how does Felix feel about all of this?"

"He thinks I'd be happier with him and the Nicelanders and Ralph over in his game. And he's not wrong. I could finally stop feeling like I'm just Mom's responsibility."

"Well, technically you are. At least, I think so. How old are you?"

"I've only existed for a year, but I'm seventeen on the outside. I've always looked like this."

"I'm seventeen too. But enough about ages. Why haven't you seen you father in eight months?"

"Mom won't let me leave the restaurant. Papa doesn't come here often because of how dangerous it is. Mom just goes to see him in his game. He misses me, and I miss him."

"Not that it's any of my business, but why don't you just go visit him?"

"And risk getting my mom angry at me? No! Papa wouldn't want that."

I slumped forward and leaned on the counter. I had really wanted to help her, but I just didn't have any ideas. Then, all of a sudden, I got an idea.

"Would you be able to leave if you were escorting out a stowaway?" I asked slyly. "Say, someone gone Turbo?"

"I suppose so, but where am I…" She stopped mid-sentence and smiled. "You mean you, don't you?"

"Yeah! You could leave the Tavern, impress you mother, and see your father all at once! And I could make it to Sugar Rush before morning."

"That's genius, Maggie!" exclaimed Caitie, literally leaping over the counter. "Let's go! Let's go right now!"

"Okay then!" I exclaimed. I hopped off my stool and stood up. Caitie grabbed my wrist and literally dragged me out of the tavern. "Whoa, slow down, Hot Shot!"

"Never!" exclaimed Caitie with a laugh.

Caitie dragged me from the tavern back to the terminal in ten seconds flat. Her mother was there. Tall, lean, short blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. She wore armor on everything but her head.

"Caitie, what are you doing here?" asked Sergeant Calhoun. She noticed me. "And who's this?"

"Maggie Chance, Ma'am. From Take a Chance," said Caitie. "She came to the tavern. She's trying to go Turbo."

"Go Turbo?" asked Sergeant Calhoun. "She came here to take over our game? I will not tolerate such a thing!"

"No, nothing like that," said Caitie. "She was just fed up. I'm escorting her back to her game before things get out of hand."

"Taking initiative," said Sergeant Calhoun, a look of pride beginning to come over her face. "I appreciate that, Rookie. Proceed."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am," said Caitie. She saluted her and continued on to the train.

She roughly shoved me onto the train to make it look like she was just doing her job. Once she was on the empty train and the doors had slid shut, she began jumping up and down and squealing.

"Mom looked so proud!" exclaimed Caitie. "And I'm going to see Papa again!"

She untied her clean white apron and dropped it on the seats. She was wearing a baby blur t-shirt and blue skinny jeans. On her feet were beige high-tops.

"I won't be needing that tonight," said Caitie. She squealed again and gave me an unexpected hug. It was the first hug I'd gotten in my entire lifetime. "Thank you, Maggie. I never would have had the courage to do this without you."

"You're welcome, Caitie," I replied. I patted her back and then let go. "I'm only too happy to help."

"Do you think Papa will get mad at me for sneaking out?" asked Caitie, plunking down on a seat. "What if he sends me back the second he sees me?"

"He won't," I replied. I sat down on the seat next to hers. "If he misses you as much as you said he does, he'll be glad to see you."

"Oh, I never doubted he'd be glad," said Caitie. She got a sad look on her face and hung her head. "I just don't want to disappoint him. Papa means the world to me. Disappointing him would crush me."

"Okay, no need to be so melodramatic," I replied. "Just explain. And take things one step at a time. First, we get to Game Central Station, then; we go to Fix-It Felix Jr. Then we find Felix. _Then _you explain. Alright?"

"I got it," said Caitie. "And thanks again."

Just then, the train screeched to a halt. We got off the train and Caitie's eyes widened to three times their normal size. She had never seen Game Central Station and all its commotion before, I could tell from her face. She couldn't get enough. While she was peering around, I located the entrance to Sugar Rush. She found the entrance to Fix-It Felix Jr.

"Well, I guess this is good-bye," I said. I gave her another hug. "I'll probably never see you again. Heaven knows the next time they'll let me out of detention after this stunt."

"Then, thanks for your help, I guess," said Caitie. She let go and smiled. "Happy game-jumping, Maggie."

I nodded and started heading towards Sugar Rush, ready to relish my brief freedom for as long as I could. All of a sudden, Caitie called my name. I turned back to her.

"Would you come with me?" asked Caitie. "I think I'm going to need some support."

I smiled. Sugar Rush could wait. I followed Caitie into Fix-It Felix Jr. 


	3. Like Father, Like Daughter

The little blue train wheeled into the station and Caitie got so white that I thought she was going to faint. I put both of my hands firmly on her shoulders and shook her, not roughly, but enough to turn her skin color back to normal.

"Cool it, Caitie!" I exclaimed. "Pull yourself together! We can't have you fainting before you even make it through the front door."

"I know, I know," said Caitie. She stood up and stepped onto the train platform. "I can do this. No problem. I'm just gonna take it one step at a time."

"Atta girl!" I exclaimed, stepping off next to her. "Now, let's get going. He live in the building or the neighborhood?"

"Building," said Caitie. "He put that neighborhood in for the refugees the game takes in. So far, just the Q-Bert's live there."

"Well, to the building it is," I said. "And stop freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out."

"You are freaking out."

"How do you know?"

"Because I can just tell. Let's go, time's a-wasting."

Once we were inside the lobby of the apartment building, I took a good look around. The walls were cream and the floors were white, scuffed clean to the point of sparkling. There was a rug on which you could wipe your feet, but due to the cleanliness of the rug, I figured nobody had ever wiped their feet on it. That or some bored Nicelander had cleaned it in the past thirty years. After I had seen my fill of the lobby, I turned to Caitie. She was looking around with a somewhat confused look on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I…uh…I don't know where he lives," said Caitie. I crossed my arms and groaned. She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look; I've never been here before."

"Well, I'll bet the Nicelanders know where he lives," I suggested. Just then, a tiny little lady hopped down the stairs and I smiled sweetly. "Excuse me Mss, but where does Fix-It Felix live?"

"Oh, that's easy," said the woman. "Apartment twelve-B, third floor."

"Thank you, Miss," I replied. She smiled and walked out the door. I turned to Caitie. "See? Easy."

"Don't get testy with me, Maggie," said Caitie jokingly. "Let's go."

"We could take the elevator," I replied, reaching to press the up button on the elevator. Caitie grabbed my arm. "What?"

"Oh, no. Not the elevator," said Caitie. "I _hate _elevators."

"Okay," I replied. "Stairs it is."

Together, we walked up the stairs to the third floor. After that, finding apartment twelve-B was a breeze. Finding it was easy; getting Caitie to actually knock was not. We stood in front of that door until I nudged her.

"Are you ready to knock yet?" I asked. She took a deep breath.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

She took another deep breath and knocked three times. We heard a "Come in!" and opened the door. I went in first and had to drag Caitie after me. It appeared that we were in his living room. There was a couch, a chair, and a wall full of medals. The walls were a yellowish color and the whole place smelled like apple pie. It was a home, not a house, that much I could tell. We heard a little rattling sound coming from the hall on our left. The smell of pie got stronger and then Felix came into the room, holding a piece of pie on a plate.

He looked the same as I remembered. He barely came up to my elbow. He wore his baby blue button-up t-shirt, blue jeans, steel-toe boots, and a blue baseball cap. I could immediately see the resemblance between him and Caitie. She may have had her mother's height, shape, and facial structure, but she had his hair, his eyes, and his posture. They even had identical looks on their faces, kind of shocked and surprised. A moment later, his gloved hands dropped the plate, where it landed with a crash. The plate shattered.

"Caitlynn?" he said in a surprised and quiet voice. Tears started to form in Caitie's eyes.

"Papa," said Caitie in a relieved and tearful voice.

Felix stepped forward, over the pile of broken glass and smushed pie. Caitie dropped to her knees and they wrapped their arms around each other. I heard them both sniffling. That one moment reminded me of what I was deprived of by not having parents. I could never have an emotional reuniting.

"My sweet little girl," said Felix, drying his eyes. "Oh, how I've missed you. When was the last time we saw each other?"

"January, Papa," said Caitie. She kissed Felix's cheek and then rested her chin back on his shoulder. "It's August now. August. It's been eight long months."

They let go of each other and smiled. Then Caitie seemed to remember I was there and that she should introduce me.

"Papa, this is Maggie Chance, from the game Take a Chance," said Caitie. "She says you met once before."

"Oh, yes," said Felix. He reached out a hand and I shook it. "Nice to see you again, Maggie. Say, I invited you to my wedding. Why didn't you come?"

"I was in detention, Sir," I replied sheepishly. "I've been in detention most of my life."

"But you aren't today?" asked Felix, a sly smile creeping onto his face. "Or did you just decide to leave?"

"Well, yes," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. "I was just on my way to Sugar Rush, but I made a stop in Hero's Duty and met Caitie. You have an amazing daughter, Sir."

"Oh, please, call me Felix," said Felix. Then he smiled with pride up at Caitie. "And you don't need to tell me I have an amazing daughter. I wish her mother would let her come see me."

He cleaned up the mess on the floor and then seemed to have put two and two together and come up with an illogical three.

"Wait a minute," said Felix. "Does Tammy know you're here?" Caitie looked meekly down at the floor and shook her head. "Jiminy jaminy, Caitie! The last thing I want is for your mother to get mad at me and you! She'll never let you out of her sight again!"

"Papa, I needed to see you again," said Caitie. "Maggie came, and if I escorted her back to her game, that would be my chance to see you again and make mom proud."

"Escort her back?" asked Felix. "Why would you have to escort her back?"

"I'm not going back to my game, Felix," I replied. "I'm not anybody in my game. I'm nothing but a filthy cheater."

"And you?" Felix asked, turning back to Caitie. "You're not going back to Hero's Duty, are you?"

"Papa, I know you're cross right now," said Caitie, trying to calm him down. She kneeled down in front of him again while he stood there with his arms crossed. "I know what I did was impulsive. I know Mom will probably ground me for the rest of my life. I know I shouldn't be helping someone who's going Turbo. I know I really shouldn't be here right now, but I needed you Papa. I couldn't wait any longer, and I'm not gonna wait another eight months to see you after this. I need you Papa. I don't want Mom to keep thinking of me as the failure. I want her to look at me like she looks at Caleb."

"It's not your fault, your brother is just more suited to Hero's Duty than you are," said Felix, his expression softening slightly. It stayed that way. "After all, you're more of a Fix-It."

"Yes, that's exactly it, Papa," said Caitie, still knelling. "I'm a Fix-It, Caleb is a soldier. Mom just hasn't realized it yet. And as long as I sit in the tavern not saying anything, she'll never realize it. I want to stay in your game with you and the Nicelanders and the Q-Berts and Ralph."

"Ralph!" exclaimed Felix, slapping his hand to his forehead. "I forgot all about it! I was supposed to go to Ralph's house and fix his leaky faucet."

"Can I come?" asked Caitie, standing up. She wrapped her arm around me. "And Maggie too?"

"Oh, all right," said Felix. "But we'll get back to this talk later."

"Got it, Papa," said Caitie, following him out the door. "Can do."

We left and headed out for the neighborhood off to the side of the apartment building. Felix went into the biggest house and we sat outside on the porch.

"You have a brother?" I asked.

"Well, yeah," said Caitie. "He's my twin, but he looks like Mom. She groomed him to be a hero, but he likes it. I don't."

"Oh," I replied. I looked to the screen and saw that the sky outside was starting to get light. "How many hours until the arcade opens?"

"It's five now," said Caitie. "Arcade opens at eight-thirty."

"Three hours," I replied. "I still have plenty of time to make it to Sugar Rush and enjoy myself."

"Sugar Rush?" asked a man's voice behind us. I turned and saw a huge man with giant hands. He wore a red plaid shirt and red overalls. He had no shoes and brown hair and eyes. "You two are going to Sugar Rush?"

"Yeah," said Caitie. "You wanna come with us Ralph?"

"Nah," said Ralph. "I just need you to pass on a message for me."

"A message?" asked Caitie. "For who? Vanellope?"

"Yeah. Tell her I'm sorry I couldn't visit tonight, but I look forward to Sunday and our sleep-over," said Ralph. "I know. It sounds weird that a grown man would have a sleep-over with a little girl. Just ask for President Vanellope and tell her Ralph sent ya. She'll take good care of you."

With that, Ralph went back into the house and Felix came back out.

"So, you girls are heading out?" asked Felix. Caitie and I nodded. "Well, can I snag one more hug before you go?"

Caitie smiled and she and Felix hugged. When he let go, he hopped back to the apartment building and waved from the front door. We both waved back and then he went inside. We walked to the train station and rode the train back to Game Central Station.

"Are you glad you did it?" asked Caitie.

"Are you?" I retorted.

"Yes." Caitie smiled. "Are you glad or not?"

"Yeah." I saw the entrance to Sugar Rush directly across from Fix-It Felix and looped arms with Caitie. "Come on, Girl. Let's go get our sweet on."


End file.
